Game localization: process, languages and cost drivers

The short answer

Game localization adapts a game's text, UI, audio and store presence for other languages and cultures. Prepare the code first (all text in string tables, flexible UI, fonts and right-to-left support), choose languages from market data, translate with native game translators who have context, review cultural content, and test every language in the running build. Cost depends mainly on word count, the number of languages, voice-over and how much testing you do. Late text changes are the most avoidable expense.

Internationalisation: the cheap part done early

• No text in code or images: every string lives in a table with a key.
• Placeholders and plurals: "You have {count} coins" with plural rules per language, for example using ICU message format.
• UI that grows: translations are often much longer than English; buttons and boxes must expand or text must wrap.
• Fonts: include fonts that cover every target script.
• Right-to-left: plan for Arabic and Hebrew layout from the start if they are likely markets.
• Dates, numbers and currency: format by locale, not by hand.

Unity's Localization package and Unreal Engine's Localization Dashboard both handle string tables, locale switching and asset variants.

Choosing languages

Start from data rather than habit: where your store traffic and wishlists come from, which countries your genre does well in, and where your competitors are localised. Steam provides wishlist and traffic data by country. A low-cost test is to localise the store page and screenshots for a candidate language first and watch whether traffic and wishlists from that market rise.

The localization process

1. Freeze text: localise when text is close to final; every later change multiplies across languages.
2. Export with context: each string with notes, screenshots, character limits and who is speaking.
3. Glossary and style guide: names, terms and tone agreed per language.
4. Translation: native-speaking translators with game experience.
5. Cultural review: symbols, gestures, colours, humour and content that may offend or confuse.
6. Integration: import translations and build each language.
7. Linguistic QA: testers play the game in each language, catching truncation, missing strings, wrong context and font problems.

Special scripts

Our guide to Arabic game development covers right-to-left work in depth.

Voice-over

Voice multiplies cost and schedule: casting, studio time and lip-sync per language. Many games localise voice only for the largest markets and use subtitles elsewhere. If you use AI voice, check licensing, consent and union rules carefully; see AI voice for games.

Store pages and ratings

Localise the store description, screenshots with text, trailers' subtitles and keywords. Some markets need separate age ratings or classification; for example, Saudi Arabia requires games to be classified by its media regulator. See our Saudi gaming market guide.

What drives the cost

Localising updates in a live game

Live games add new text with every event and update, so localization becomes a continuous pipeline rather than a one-off project. Successful teams freeze each update's text a fixed number of days before release, send it to translators automatically from the string tables, and run a short LQA pass per language as part of the release checklist. Without that rhythm, events launch in English only, or translated text arrives after the event has ended.

Machine translation and AI

Machine translation and AI tools can produce fast first drafts, especially for large volumes of simple text, but game text is full of names, jokes, character voice and context that automated tools get wrong. Most quality-focused studios use them, if at all, as a draft for professional translators to edit, and still run linguistic QA. For store pages and marketing in key markets, human writers are worth the cost.

Common mistakes

• Building sentences from fragments in code, which breaks in other languages' grammar.
• Text baked into images and textures.
• No context for translators, leading to wrong meanings.
• Skipping LQA, so truncation and missing strings reach players.
• Localising before text is stable.

Working with us

We prepare games for localization from day one, integrate translations and run LQA, including Arabic right-to-left. See our Middle East page or request a quote.

Sources: Unity: Localization package · Unreal Engine: localization overview · ICU: message formatting · Unity: Advanced Text Generator · Steamworks: localization. Checked October 20, 2026.

Related: Game development for the Middle East · Mobile game development · Get a quote